Starting the Day in Style

Let’s be real here, I am a 24 year old recent grad, so this is obviously not my apartment. But it is good to be aspirational, no? My fabulous friend let us (us being myself and my photog…who you should all know by now because I write about her in basically every post) borrow the space for the day. We took some incredible photos of the panoramic views, (she does live on the 71st floor, after all) and then we messed around with some editorial shots in some of my favorite vintage pieces–check back for those next week.

Though I love street style photography, this was a unique way to experiment with lighting and styling techniques, and it inspired some projects that hopefully I can share with you all in the coming weeks! As for this look in particular, I consider myself fortunate to be a morning person. I don’t love getting up early, but I find it relatively easy. I like to ease into my day, and will usually get up with a significant amount of extra time so that I can relax on the couch and mindlessly scan Instagram before I have to run anywhere.

These extra moments make me feel like the morning belongs to me, and that I am not getting up exclusively to do things at the behest of other people. Though I get the impulse to hit snooze until the last possible second, personally this makes me feel anxiety about being late. Since I am freelancing right now, I have a lot more freedom to be leisurely in waking up, but I hold myself to a pretty strict schedule. I always try to be at the little coffee shop where I like to work by 8:30. This is mostly because I am really weird and like to sit in the same spot every day, so I try to steal it before a lot of people get there. But it also makes me feel in charge of my day.

If I am not grabbing breakfast at the coffee shop, chia seed pudding is one of my favorite ways to start the day. The recipe takes less than five minutes, and it is packed with protein, fiber, and vitamins to get your morning off the best possible start. It also tastes a bit like a milkshake, which is always a good thing…read on for the recipe (which is so ridiculously easy that I don’t know if we should call it a “recipe”).

Chia Seed Pudding

1 cup of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup of your choice of milk

3 tablespoons of chia seeds

2 tablespoons of honey

Mixed berries

Slivered Almonds

You can make this either the night before or the day of, but if you make it the night before the chia seeds puff up a little more and it becomes more like a pudding. Both ways are delicious. Simply mix the yogurt, milk and honey together until blended. Add the chia seeds. After this you can either refrigerate until morning and then add the fruit and nut garnishes, or garnish and eat immediately. Super fast, super healthy, and super yummy, this is by far my favorite breakfast! Let me know if you like it! And scroll through for more of mine and Anabella’s fun and flirty photos from the 71st floor!